Physicians may complicate lawmakers’ plans to encourage global payments in Massachusetts since only 42 percent of physicians in the state are likely to participate in voluntary global payment systems, according to the 2011 Massachusetts Medical Society Physicians Workforce Study.
Lawmakers are working toward a plan that encourages flat global payments to networks of providers, which would function as accountable care organizations and replace the fee-for-service system, according to a New York Times report. The goal is to reduce state healthcare costs, since per capita health spending in Massachusetts was 15 percent above the national average in 2010.
Still, physicians in the state have not shown much eagerness to participate in such systems. Aside from global payments, only 59 percent of physicians indicated they’re likely to participate in voluntary ACOs. Of the physicians surveyed, primary care physicians were more familiar with global payments and ACOs and also more likely to participate in them than specialists and pediatricians.
Despite these findings, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said stakeholders and physicians are becoming more comfortable with the idea and that global payments are no longer seen as a “foreign approach,” according to the New York Times report.
Related Articles on Global Payments:
58% of Massachusetts Physicians Not Likely to Participate in Global Payment System
Further Evidence Questioning Impact of Quality Incentive Programs Creates Doubts for Shared Savings
Partners HealthCare, Insurers Negotiate Global Payments
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